Same story in the the Washington Post. They report, you go figure ;-)
White House Bends to Israeli 'Road Map' Demands
Administration Opens Door to Revising Mideast Peace Plan
By Scott Lindlaw
Associated Press Writer
Friday, May 23, 2003; 8:25 AM
CRAWFORD, Texas –– The Bush administration pledged Friday that it will consider "fully and seriously" Israel's concerns about what steps it would have to take under a new Mideast peace plan.
"The United States shares the view of the government of Israel that these are real concerns," said a statement issued jointly by Secretary of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's national security adviser.
The White House announcement, released from Bush's Texas ranch, opens the door to slightly revising the plan known as a "road map."
Sharon's partial embrace of the peace plan represented a victory for Bush as he considers a stepped-up personal investment in Mideast peacemaking. It was also a sign that the road map could survive, despite a string of bloody suicide attacks this month in Israel.
"The roadmap was presented to the government of Israel with a request from the president that it respond with contributions to this document to advance true peace," the statement by Powell and Rice said. "The United States government received a response from the government of Israel, explaining its significant concerns about the roadmap."
They said the concerns will be addressed "in the implementation" of the roadmap.
But as the Bush White House prepared to announce the understanding with Sharon, a pipe bomb went off Friday near an armored bus carrying Israelis in the Gaza Strip in an attack claimed by the Islamic militant group Hamas. A passenger was injured.
A wave of such attacks caused Sharon to postpone his trip to the White House this week. But the two leaders seemed likely to meet soon: Bush is considering a three-way meeting with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Egypt, officials involved in the planning said Thursday. Additionally, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Bush and Sharon might meet at the end of next week in Europe, where Bush will be attending a meeting of the world's eight leading industrial nations.
Bush's aim in a high-profile meeting with Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas would be to prod them into implementing the road map.
Sharon signaled his qualified support for the peace plan for the first time on Wednesday, an Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He told the White House through an emissary that he would go along with it as long as the White House took his concerns into account.
One of Sharon's main worries is that the road map, which requires the dismantling of recently established Israeli outposts, might be construed as requiring the dismantling of all Jewish settlements on the West Bank. Sharon told the Israeli people last week that abandoning settlements was not on the horizon.
The Palestinians also have expressed reservations, but accepted the administration's view that their concerns should be addressed in negotiations with Israel.
The road map is an attempt to end 32 months of fighting, freeze construction of Jewish homes on the West Bank and establish a Palestinian state by 2005 on land Israel has held for 36 years.
With the White House's willingness to address Israeli issues and the talk of a three-way meeting, Bush is hoping he can help bring about a dramatic breakthrough toward a settlement of the long-running, violent Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
Although planning for a summit at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik is in the works, a senior administration official cautioned that it may not become a reality.
It depends on whether the two sides take steps toward peace in the days ahead, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
On the Palestinian side, the administration has been seeking an end to attacks on Israel. From Sharon, meanwhile, the administration wants explicit acceptance of the road map.
Bush was watching the Mideast developments from his ranch, where he was holding a summit Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Bush departs next Thursday on a trip to Poland and St. Petersburg, Russia, for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and to Evian, France, for the Group of Eight conference.
The meeting with Sharon and Abbas would follow, although the U.S. official said a decision on whether to hold a summit might be made at the last minute.
Bush on Tuesday made an appeal to Abbas to clamp down on terror attacks against Israel, while also reassuring him the administration still intends to help create a Palestinian state in 2005.
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